‘Today’: Al Roker Celebrates Christmas With Family After Leaving the Hospital

Al Roker shared a triumphant family photo to celebrate Christmas day. The Today Show meteorologist has dealt with some serious health problems in the last month or so, and he made it out of the hospital just in time for the holiday. He was clearly thankful to be spending time at home with family.

“From our family to yours, [Merry Christmas],” Roker wrote on Instagram on Sunday afternoon. His post included a photo of himself and his family at the table together in matching pajamas, as well as apicture of their dog wearing the same pattern. They were clearly in the middle of a hearty holiday meal, yet their outfits kept it casual. Fans and commenters wished Roker the best and expressed their joy that he made it home for the occasion.

Roker, 68, has been in and out of the hospital in the last few weeks dealing with blood clots and related complications. These ailments kept him from his usual on-air coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as well as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, but at least they didn’t interrupt his family Christmas dinner.

Roker sat with his wife Deborah Roberts and his children – 35-year-old Courtney, 24-year-old Leila and 20-year-old Nick. Courtney’s husband Wesley Laga joined them as well. All wore matching green pajamas with a pattern of Peanuts characters on them – including the dog.

Last week, Roker gushed about his family on The Today Show, saying that simply having them all together is the hart of the holidays. He said that he is thankful they can all gather with no drama or fighting – a luxury that some families haven’t had in recent years. He said: “My favorite family tradition is not everybody fighting. That’s a great thing. If that happens – you can get your adult children together and their significant others and everything is fine? Win-win.”

Roker also remarked on how much more relaxing Christmas is now that his children are adults. He said: “My kids – look, it’s different now that they’re older. Holiday shopping becomes much simpler. They’re not looking for the hot toy or anything like that.”Roker added that he is thankful he no longer has to get up “at 6 a.m. in the morning because the little ones are up,” noting that now it’s “‘Oh, we’ll get up around 9 o’clock.’ And that’s just great.”